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Address transportation issues across Boulder

By Andria Bilichand Jessica Yates

Posted:
07/31/2013 01:00:00 AM MDT

In the City of Boulder, our innovative transportation system is a large part of what makes our city so distinctive and livable. Our transportation system forms the arteries of our community. Buses like the HOP, SKIP and JUMP, Eco-Passes for employees and neighborhoods, bike paths and lanes, well-maintained roads, multi-use paths for everyone -- these amenities help make Boulder a place where we want to work, live, and vacation. But this way of life is in danger because the transportation system is badly and increasingly underfunded. Boulder's City Council is on the brink of addressing this crisis, but council must act decisively next week if the 2013 ballot is to provide much-needed relief.

Since 2002, the purchasing power of transportation dollars has decreased by 40 percent due to the increased costs of materials. Transportation efficiency improvements have helped, but only go so far now that 84 percent of the total department budget goes to operations and maintenance (O&M) such as repaving roads, plowing snow, maintaining stoplights, and buying transit service from RTD. Yes, that leaves 16 percent for "capital improvements" such as repaving Arapahoe and redoing east Pearl, but those projects are only possible through federal grants, and the federal money is drying up fast.

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This year, the city will spend $12.9 million on transportation O&M, but we need to spend $16.1 million annually -- leaving a $3.2 million annual funding gap of deferred pavement maintenance, general maintenance, and transit support. And the gap will only compound and grow under the current stagnant budget plus inflation.

These unfunded needs have serious, tangible consequences. If the O&M gap is not filled, transit reductions equivalent to all of the DASH service in 10 years would be required, and pavement condition system-wide will continue to degrade by 5 percent per year, and we won't be able to afford effective response to snow and ice storms. We live in lean times, but an already lean Boulder transportation system will only suffer if we allow this sad state of funding to continue.

These structural problems are compounded by the expectations of Boulder citizens. Polls have repeatedly shown that the citizens of Boulder value a functional, innovative, safe, and evolving transportation system over almost all other city services. We value the ability to bike and walk, desire strong transit services, and expect quality roads. We also expect the city to meet its Climate Commitment, but our carbon tax does not fund any efforts to reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. We can only enhance our transit options and tackle climate change with transportation funding to do so, which is impossible when every year more money must go to O&M.

Boulder's transportation system needs an infusion. The Blue Ribbon Commissions, the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), and two citizen task forces have spent well over a decade studying the funding gap and ways to close it. Several proposals have been brought to council over the years, but no consensus emerged around alternatives because none were deemed a perfect solution. It's time to stop allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good, because immediate needs cannot be ignored any longer.

Luckily for us all, in crafting this year's ballot measures, council has started down a good path to righting the course of transportation funding. One recent proposal for a new sales tax is a start, but only funds the O&M gap for 5 years. Transportation needs 10 or more years of funding just to stop the deterioration of our transportation system. There have been some calls to switch from sales taxes to fees that are designed to discourage driving and encourage transportation choice, or are linked directly to each person's system use. While TAB fully embraces transportation choice and agrees that fees should be linked to system use, the commissions and task forces charged with identifying funding solutions have concluded that many of these fee types pose legal, technological and fairness issues that simply cannot be surmounted at this time. Also, although there is discussion of possible new federal and state transportation revenues, most such legislative and voter initiatives in the past have failed, and the city cannot depend on such speculative efforts.

Simply put, we need to take control and fund our transportation system right now using tools we have today. The additional funding should take effect as soon as possible and last at least 10 years to maintain our existing system, to begin meeting our Climate Commitment, and to identify a longer-term solution to transportation funding.

Andria Bilich and Jessica Yates wrote this on behalf of the Transportation Advisory Board.

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